I am not familiar with leases as I have always bought, what I am pasting below is the current lease offer on an S here in NC. From my reading it I gather that I pay approx. 8k in lease payments over 36 months...at the end I can buy the car for another 8k.... with the down payment that only adds up to 19k for a car that MSRP for 30K. Am I reading this right??

That looks right. I strongly suggest you negotiate to get an S with the "Charge Package" at that price. It includes both a DC Quick Charge port and a faster onboard charger. Otherwise you'd get no QC port and a slow onboard charger that would slow charge times enough to be an issue for you. You might also try for a price on an un-optioned SV. That would include both a heatpump and the QC port/Faster charger. You'd get better range in typical Winter weather where you live, and the Nav feature with remote climate control and charging access.. The S has a resistance heater only, and no Nav/remote access..

I doubt you will want to buy after the lease because:1. Longer range vehicles will be available.2. Vehicles with driverless or autosteer capability for freeways will be available.You would just lease again at that point.These capabilities are rumored for the 2018 Leaf that will be announced in September and available by end of year. The autosteer capability for 2018 Leaf is called ProPilot. Already on minivan in Japan:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ee-minivan

The advantages of leasing now over buying used:1. No maintenance costs2. Longer range vehicle: 84 miles versus 107.

3. The option to buy your car for $8k if it will suit your needs for another three to five years, if you choose. People usually avoid leasing because they consider it "renting" with nothing to show for it. The Leaf offers an alternative to that.

If considering new, also check out the $10K power company deal. My dealer had not heard of it but it was a real thing. Maybe not quite as good as it seems because it requires taking a loan at a fairly high interest rate, but worth looking at anyway. A few power companies other than Duke are participating as well.

LoLRick wrote:If considering new, also check out the $10K power company deal. My dealer had not heard of it but it was a real thing. Maybe not quite as good as it seems because it requires taking a loan at a fairly high interest rate, but worth looking at anyway. A few power companies other than Duke are participating as well.

I ran across this last night and I am trying to find out if my cooperative is participating. The road I live on is divided by those who receive power from South River EMC (me) and across the street is Duke.....

Also the S models I have looked have the charging package...apparently the dealers know the benefit and are ordering them with it around here...or should I say from the triangle westward...there isn't a Nissan Leaf on a dealer lot East of I-95!

According to their facebook page Plug In NC says all residents of the state of NC are eligible as any resident of this state is considered a "stakeholder" in their mission.

Also I checked out the L2 chargers here at work....no one has parked at them all day...now it is summer so campus isn't packed but still looking like L2 is going to be available for free at work on a daily basis, that walk/ride to my office is looking very doable with a fold up bike or just walking.

Last edited by sandboxpirate on Mon Jun 19, 2017 11:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

As others have said, for a commute like that, don't get a 24kWh Leaf. 30kWh should be your dead minimum. You may also consider a used Tesla Model S. 85kWh battery models for $45k, if you can afford that.https://www.tesla.com/used?model=ms

If you get a new Leaf, as others have suggested, lease instead of buy. It likely will work out cheaper if you do decide to buy out the lease, AND you're not stuck with it if you decide the range isn't good enough.

Otherwise, you could look into a Volt/Bolt, but I hate Chevy, so it's not an option for me, but you may not hate them.

Having a 6.6kW charger instead of the 3.7kW charger is nice, especially if you can pop into a place that has L2 charging. Wishing my 2012 Leaf had the faster charger, but oh well. I will have my Tesla Model 3 in about a year's time. I can survive until then.

Pulled the trigger on going EV on 10/2016 with a 2012 Leaf, and a Tesla Model 3 reservation expected to receive in June 2018.

If you get a new Leaf, as others have suggested, lease instead of buy. It likely will work out cheaper if you do decide to buy out the lease, AND you're not stuck with it if you decide the range isn't good enough.